RESUMO

Toxoplasma gondii infection is widely prevalent in humans in Brazil. Among the food animals, pigs are considered the most important meat source of T. gondii for infection in humans. In the present study, we report the first isolation of viable T. gondii from finishing pigs in Brazil. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 49 (17%) of 286 pigs prior slaughter using the modified agglutination test (MAT) at a serum dilution of 1:25. Attempts were made to isolate T. gondii from 28 seropositive pigs. Samples of heart, brain, and tongue from each pig were pooled, digested in acid pepsin, and bioassayed in five mice per pig. Viable T. gondii was isolated from seven pigs; all isolates were lethal for mice. Restriction fragment length polymorphism on products of SAG2 locus amplified by PCR revealed that two isolates were Type I and five were Type III. The results indicate that phenotypically and genetically T. gondii isolates from pigs from Brazil are distinct from isolates of T. gondii from pigs in the USA.

Assuntos

Doenças dos Suínos/parasitologia , Toxoplasma/isolamento & purificação , Toxoplasmose Animal/parasitologia , Zoonoses/parasitologia , Testes de Aglutinação/veterinária , Animais , Anticorpos Antiprotozoários/sangue , Antígenos de Protozoários/química , Antígenos de Protozoários/genética , Bioensaio/veterinária , Brasil , DNA de Protozoário/química , DNA de Protozoário/genética , Feminino , Genótipo , Camundongos , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase/veterinária , Proteínas de Protozoários/química , Proteínas de Protozoários/genética , Suínos , Toxoplasma/genética